Individual contractor on Care Economy and Women's Economic Empowerment

To this end, ESCAP's Social Development Division is hiring an individual contractor, under the overall supervision of the Chief of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Section, to undertake the following tasks: Design a comprehensive social media campaign in advance of several care economy and entrepreneurship related events, including a regional forum (November 2026), launching of the care publication (October 2026), international days related to gender equality (ongoing) and national level events (tbc). Support the finalization of the publication “The Future is Care: Visioning Inclusive and Resilient Care Systems in Asia and the Pacific”, including incorporating and addressing feedback from peer reviewers, management and the editor and designer (launching October 2026) Ensure that the ESCAP Gender Equality webpage and the Asia-Pacific Gender Portal are regularly maintained and updated with relevant content. (ongoing) Support ESCAP and ESCAP partner engagement, through preparing PowerPoints and talking points, in several ASEAN events focused on women’s economic empowerment and the care economy, including the ASEAN Women Leaders’ Summit (September 2026) and ASEAN High-Level Meeting on Strengthening Alternative Family-Based Care systems ‘Building Stronger Families, Securing Brighter Futures (September 2026), ASEAN Women’s Economic Sumit (November 2026) and the ASEAN Leaders’s Summit, ACW Partnership Conference (November 2026). Support the design, implementation and communications strategy of the Caring Futures Lab web-based role-play game, including working with the game designer (launching in November 2026) Support the regional forum on women entrepreneurship in the digital, green and care economies, including preparation of concept notes, programmes, invitations, and presentation materials (November 2026) Conceptualize and develop online tools to support learning and capacity building on care economy and care systems, based on ESCAP’s toolkits and publications on care (due December 2026) Develop 2027 advocacy materials on women’s economic empowerment, including a communications strategy, documentation of best practices, and human-interest stories.(due December 2026) Prepare substantive written contributions and communications materials, including speeches, talking points, blog posts, press releases, and social media content, on care and other gender equality topics (ongoing) Provide any other support as requested in alignment with the overall goals of ESCAP's gender equality, care economy and women’s entrepreneurship initiatives.

01/07/26-31/12/26

ESCAP recognizes the crucial role of promoting women's economic empowerment to advance gender equality and address the challenges faced by women and girls in Asia and the Pacific. In the region, women and girls shoulder a disproportionate share of unpaid care and domestic work, dedicating an average of four times more time to these responsibilities compared to men. This gendered and unequal distribution of care responsibilities restricts the opportunities available to women and girls, hindering their access to quality education, decent work and participation in public life. Policies that recognize, reduce, and redistribute unpaid care and domestic work are critical to free up women's and girls' time and provide them with greater opportunities, including access to education, employment, and the ability to contribute to the economy. In this context, ESCAP collaborates with governments in Asia and the Pacific to value and invest in the care economy. This includes supporting efforts to harmonize existing legislation toward the reduction and redistribution of unpaid care work, establishing national care systems that include affordable support services for children, older persons and family members with disabilities, and introducing the systematic use of gender-responsive budget initiatives. In addition, ESCAP promotes women’s entrepreneurship as a key pathway to economic empowerment across sectors, including the digital, green, and care economies. This includes supporting the development of gender-responsive policies, strengthening entrepreneurial ecosystems, and enhancing women’s access to finance, skills development, technology, and business networks. Through multi-stakeholder partnerships and regional knowledge-sharing, ESCAP advances innovative and scalable business models that create sustainable livelihoods and expand women’s participation in economic development.

Advanced university degree in development, social sciences or related field. At least one year of experience in undertaking research and analysis on socioeconomic issues is required. Previous experience with UN entities working on gender equality issues is desirable. Strong research and drafting skills are necessary.

Fluency in written and spoken English is required. Knowledge of one of the other official languages of ESCAP is desired.

Not available.